Fabric.



A. HOPKINS. FABRIC. i APPLICATION FILED JULY 15,1911.

1,019,473. A Patented mar. 5, 1912.

WMM@ 75l-fnf Hamed Hamam@ WC/ j@ To all "whom it may concern.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED HOPKINS, 0F CHELSEA, MASSACHQ'SETTS.

FABRIC.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

Applicatfon filed .Tuly 15, 1911. Serial No. 638,800.

Sheet rubber was fat rst used as an elas' "E tic bandage forl surgical purposes, but -while .possessing the desirable qualities of flexibility and elasticity, this material was open to t-he objection that neither air norA moisture could pass therethrough "and consequently was discarded by the medical profession. Fabrics 'woven or knitted wholly or partly of rubber threads have been used for this purpose and have been found to Abe far superior to the sheet rubber.

My invention combines rubber threads with non-elastic threads and is so woven and constructed that it is provided with` large meshes or' apertures through which ventila-vtion may take place and .is far superior in thisrespect to anything heretofore produced,

so far as Iam aware. The invention consists in the combination and 'arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and particularly pointed out inthe claims.

Referring to the drawing:` Figure l is a plan, somewhat conventionalized, of a piece lof fabric embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a section .taken-on line 2 2 of Fig. 1 and somewhat enlarged.

Like numerals refer to like parts through- I out both views ofthe drawing.

Inthe'drawing, 3, 3 are warp threads.

" Ihese warp threads are preferablycomposed' of a rubber cord over'which is wound fine cotton thread which` forms a covering for the rubber. This covering is so wound onto the rubbercord as notto limit or impair the elasticity of the rubber. The particular ob" ject of winding the rubber cord is to prevent the contact of the bare rubber with the flesh when the fabric is used as a bandage.

The cotton covering also has a tendency to protect the 'rubber cord from the effects of moisture and atmosphere.

4, 4 arev weft threads.` Theseweft threads `or what are sometimes known as filling threads, e extend transversely of the warp threads 3, 3 and preferably entirely on one side thereof. They are preferably composed of some non-elastic material, such as cotton,

linen or silk.

5, 5 are binding threadsv preferably composed of some non-elastic material lsuch as mentioned above. Each of the warp threads 3 has associated with it a binding thread 5. The binding thread follows in a general direction the line of the warp thread, crossing it alternately and passing over the top of it alternately from left to right. ,At every point of turning the binding thread extends under one or more, preferably two, of the weft threads. Afterv the binding thread has passed under one or morev of the weft threads, as above set forth, it passes over such warp thread onto the other side thereof yand, again passes under one or more of the weft threads in the manner'previously ndicated. This Inode of interlocking of the weft 'threads continues throughout the length of the warp strands.

.In order to make the construction clear.

and iny order to point out three particular warp threads, I have indicated vlthree of these `by the additional designating` characters a, b and c, respective1y,-which I will now proceed to describe withrelation to their locking threads. 3c and. 3*? are the Vwarp threads contiguous vto the warp threads 3".

In a similar manner and for a similar purpose, I have designated'two of the weft threads and also two. of the bindin threadassociated with the warp thread 3*. 5 is the bindingthread associated with. the warp thread 3, and 55l is the binding thread associated Bwith the warp thread. 3. binding thread 5" passes over t-he .warp thread 3P fromright to left, thence under weftlhI'feads 4*l and 4", thence from left to right oyer warpthread 3b under two more weft strands and thenyrepeats the process.

Binding threadI 5c passes up between weft threads 4a and' 4b vover warp thread 3,

threads by addi.4 ltional characters a and 5b is the binding The e thence Yunder/weft thread 4b and Athejweft thread contiguous thereto. Binding thread 5a is -interlocked in the same manner vin respect tc the weft thread that binding thread 3 is. It will thus appear that while the binding thread on any warp thread passes under certain pairs of weft threads, the binding threads on the contiguous warp threads pass between the two threads forming the pairs of weft threads.

Itwill be observed from the construction heretofore described that it is possible to stretch the fabric longitudinally of the warp threads, the warp threads being in themselves elastic. They are so wrapped that their elasticity'is not impaired. The binding threadsrpass' alternately across the. warp threads are aso capable of extension when the .fabric is stretched in the manner above set forth. In my preferred construction where the weft threads are of non-elastic material, the fabric is not capable of extension transversely of said warp threads. I prefer to so construct my fabric that the weft threads lie entirely below or on one side of the warp threads. This produces a comparatively smooth, flat surface for contact with the skin of the wearer of the bandage.

While I have described my improved fabric as being especially adapted for elastic bandages, it, of course, can be used for any purpose'where elastic sheet material is desirable and, furthermore, I do not wish to limit myself to an elastic construction, as the fabric can be woven entirely of nonelastic material to be used where such materialis desirable.

Having thus described lcny invention, what weft threads, andthe binding thread pass? ing over the warp threads contiguous to said warp thread passing under said pair of weft threads.

2. A fabric having, in combination, a

plurality of elastic warp threads, a plurality of non-elastic weft threads extending transversely of said warp threads and entirely on oneside thereof, and a plurality of binding threads, each of said binding threads extending alternately over one of said warp. threads and under two of said' weft threads, vthe binding thr'ead extending over any one of said warp threads passing between a pair of weft threads, and the binding threads passing over `the warp threads contiguous to said warp thread passing under said pair of weft threads.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of -two subscribing witnesses. t

ALFRED HOPKINS. Witnesses y SYDNEY E. TAFT, LOUIS A. JONES. 

